Call for market upgrade

Calls have been made for the Berinda Cox Fishing Complex at Oistins in Christ Church to be upgraded.

Some of the vendors and workers in the fish market voiced their calls for improvements to be made to the market, just ahead of the Oistins Fish Festival during the Easter weekend.

“Well, honestly, the market really needs an upgrade. It really, really does need an upgrade, but the government claims it doesn’t have the funds to do so, but yet still [the market in] Bridgetown is being done on a constant basis. I think that is [the case] because that is in the centre of the City. Otherwise than that, Oistins really needs an upgrade,” fish vendor Natasha Clarke told this publication, as she voiced concerns on the behalf of vendors.

Clarke believes that if Government does not have the money for the upgrade, “some donations from other people could really be a great help.”

She noted that given that the focus is always on the Oistins area as a noted fishing village and a hub of activity even for the Oistins Fish Festival and even as an attraction for tourists, some attention should be given to the fish market, to improve conditions there for the vendors, as well as for the locals and visitors who visit to transact business.

Shontelle Brathwaite, one of six workers at Fresh Fish House in the Berinda Cox Fishing Complex, also added her voice to the call for a more modern market. “That is the main complaint right now, an upgrade of the market in Oistins,” Brathwaite stressed.

“An upgrade is needed so we can have a newer model market for us to work in. The freezers and stuff on the inside need upgrading as well, because every five minutes you have to go down Town to get ice and stuff like that,” she commented.

It was back in November 2009 that the Oistins Fish Market was renamed the Berinda Cox Fishing Complex, after Cox, the late fish vendor and small business operator who Government wanted to honour.

It is one of the most popular markets, not only for those staying on the south coast of the island, but for Barbadians on a whole, as the mid-sized fish market always has a wide selection of the freshest fish. It is also located next to the popular Oistins Bay Garden, a hot spot for locals and visitors alike.

Of late, there have been calls for more sanitary conditions at the market for the benefit of members of the fishing community, the vendors and customers and for the market on a whole to come in line with a more modern Barbados, in terms of its functionality as well as aesthetics. (RSM)